Many Watch The Super Bowl For The Commercials

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- It is the most watched TV show of the year, and it's just a few days away. But, admit it, do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or for the commercials? They're big business, and many new ones are already making headlines.

What's the most talked-about 2013 Super Bowl commercial that hasn't even aired yet? Two words: Kate Upton. And if you don't know who she is, she's the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue model no sane woman would want to stand next to. She's starring in a Mercedes Benz commercial and many are saying it's too racy. But, still, it probably won't even come close to making as big an impact as the one that started at all.

You didn't even have to be alive in 1984 to know the iconic ad introducing the Apple MacIntosh. It was a game changer, and ever since, ads have scored big.

Who needs to wait until Sunday? Ads are now being "sneak-peeked." A Volkswagen ad is the latest courting controversy. It features a white mid-western, male office worker speaking with a Jamaican accent. One NY Times columnist characterized it this way, "It's like blackface with voices." A noted Jamaican-born journalist asked if it's this the "Jar-Jar Binks of 2013."

What about the best ads of all time? USA TODAY has the ultimate go-to guide for Superbowl ads for the past 25 years. They've cornered real-time polling right as the game is played. It's called AD Meter. And you can sign up for it on their website.

They've listed the top 25 Superbowl ads according to their results. An American Express as featuring Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey was the first winner, back in 1989.
As a matter of course, dogs and beer do well, but not necessarily together.

If you're a football purist, and don't care about the ads, this number may sway you: some 30-second ads are going for a record $4 million a pop this year. Back to the AD Meter Winners now, and number one is an oldie but a goodie, for McDonald's. It features Larry Byrd and Michael Jordan shooting hoops and trying to outdo each other, all for a Big Mac.

You can be part of Ad Meter's 25th anniversary of the survey Sunday night, but you have to sign up before this Friday night. We'll have the final wrap-up first right here after the game on WUSA9 this Sunday.